The Nike Hyperdunk launched back in 2008, and has evolved into the standard for performance basketball sneakers on the market. Defined by its lightweight and cushioning, the Hyperdunk is back in its 2014 incarnation, this time with Lunarlon, Hyperfuse and Flywire weaved together for a smooth ride as you play hoops this summer and into the fall season.

It will launch at retail on July 16. Check out photos above, as the 2014 Hyperdunk is modeled by Pacers superstar Paul George.

With five games on the schedule on Christmas Day, NBA fans got a little bit of everything. Highlights included the Magic snapping Boston’s 14-game winning streak, the Lakers looking very un-champion like in their loss to the Heat and KD putting on a show for everyone, carving up the Nuggets for 44 points in an OKC win.

The highlights were non-stop in terms of footwear. Green socks, red sneaks and green Knicks jerseys were among my favorites. The biggest attention grabber of the day was what Dwyane Wade had on his feet. Wade debuted the Air Jordan 2011 in the first half against the Lakers, before slipping back into the AJ 2010 in the second half.

In the flood of pictures that follows, I’ve probably got some of your favorites, too. For more detailed looks at what Kobe, KD and LeBron were wearing, check out the post we ran earlier this week. Also take a look at the shoes I previewed last week to see what Kevin Garnett was wearing yesterday and what Baron Davis could be wearing today against the Suns.

Pics below are courtesy of CounterKicks, who had an in-depth look at what was worn in all five games yesterday.

A few truths came from this release. First, the Internet hype that came with these shoes a few months ago was only half right. The Aston Martin edition Hyperdunks and Zoom Kobe V didn’t end up costing people $700. They ended up retailing for $329.25 US. A special BB10 jacket was thrown into the mix and that cost a hefty $437 US. So if you put the two together, you top that $700 mark.

Another truth with the release: it was super limited. Nike had 200 pairs of the shoes on hand when they set up a special shop at Staples Center that paid homage to Kobe and Aston Martin. Through an online draw they selected 200 winners and invited them to Staples to buy their shoes. All proceeds from the sales of the packs went to the LA84 Foundation, which supports youth sports programming in LA. The shoes sold out at Staples and likely went quickly when they dropped today at House of Hoops LA in limited quantities.

Just like certain events dictate how you’ll dress (job interviews, weddings, hillbilly jamborees, etc.), I’ve always felt that the type of game you’re playing in should dictate what you wear on a basketball court.

I like to save my best sneaks for the big games: rec league playoffs, the rare occasions where I get to play with the guys I grew up with, or if I know I’ll be seeing another sneakerhead on the court. You can’t just go around with your best Jordan XIs all willy-nilly. To me at least, the big shoes need to have a moment of some kind to tie into.

While it’s cool to have the A-list sneakers for those big moments, this hierarchy creates another issue, in choosing what to wear in your day-to-day sessions on your favorite courts. There are all kinds of obstacles you could encounter on the court on any day of the week.

A dusty floor, overly physical defenders and rebounders (you never want your nicest kicks scuffed and dirtied, right?), or the possibility of getting on the court and staying there for a good, long run — they all require something specific. Generally, I don’t want my A-list sneakers for these kinds of games. There’s a certain type of shoe you need here. I’ve always called them my Go To War Shoes.

Aesthetically, they can be relatively simple, but they perform at a high level. And in the same way that A Tribe Called Quest still works its way into your playlists, these shoes are timeless.

Case in point: At the top of my Go To War list are my Nike Ultraflights. I picked them up at a Nike outlet in Las Vegas in 2003. The shoe is sturdy, lightweight, comfortable and considering the use it’s gotten in the last six years, it still looks good. I did a story in 2005 where I took part in my university basketball team’s open tryout. My collection was a lot smaller back then, but I didn’t have to think very long about which shoes I wanted to wear. I grabbed the Ultraflights out of their box without hesitation. Then I puked in a garbage can when I ran too many 60s.

Some of my other Go To War Shoes include the Kobe IV, the Zoom 95 retro, the Hyperdunk and last year’s Nike Zoom Phenom. I’ve recently found two new shoes that I can add to this list.

It’s hard enough to take a risk on a new technology from a sneaker company that’s a proven name in the industry. For a lot of people, rolling the dice on Baron Davis’ signature joint might be an amplified version of those hesitancies. I’ve already written about the potential that Li-Ning has as it gets its feet wet in the North American market. After a few weeks of wearing the BD Doom, I can say that the brand’s biggest release to date is worth giving into your curiosity.

I show up to my regular spot to play ball in different sneakers fairly regularly. I’ve been playing with the same core of guys now for a couple of years and for the most part a new pair of sneaks doesn’t garner much attention beyond saying, “Oh you got *insert shoe name here*. Nice.” I’ve never been asked more about what’s on my feet than when I wore the BD Dooms.

Not that that sort of thing matters in the Go To War category, but it’s cool when your sneaks draw that kind of attention. Anyway, check the soles of these shoes. They’re ALL grip. There isn’t a smattering of herringbone pattern on the balls of your feet and the heels (though that’s enough on some shoes). Like I said, I play on a court that sometimes gets dusty and traction is an issue with some shoes from time to time. I’ve worn the BD’s on four different courts since I’ve gotten them and the grip is sensational on them, from what I’ve found, in any setting.

The shoe itself is lightweight and gave me absolutely no issues in terms of blistering or any other discomfort. The lacing system is comprehensive and flexible, with Baron tipping his headband to the Jordan IV in the varying widths of the eyelets at the toe box and at the ankle area in the shoe.

In terms of technology, Li-Ning has kept it relatively simple. The word “Bounce” is written on the sole of the shoe and it alludes to a forefoot technology that encourages high-rebound activity. Li-Ning’s Cushion technology in the heel gives shock absorption and enhances overall comfort. On top of that, they use a lot of TPU — in the heels, toes and in the forefoot, giving you protection and directional support, along with stable lateral movement.

On the day I got the shoes, I grabbed them by the heel and the toe and pushed. To my surprise, the shoe took a U shape and the front of the shoe was basically staring the little Beardman logo on the tongue of the shoe in the face.

I don’t know what this means for the long-term durability of the shoe. As it stands right now though, I love it. It’s held up through a lot of basketball so far with hard cuts and heavy running.

Before we get into the specifics on the shoe, I wanted to point out something that in my opinion, you don’t see enough of from sneaker companies. When you crack open the CP3 III box, the first thing you see is a sticker on the inside that details what makes the shoe work. I’d love to see this with every pair of basketball sneakers I bring home. It’s nice to have that info right in front of you, so you know what makes your feet feel the way they do when you wear the shoes.

Because this is a Jordan sneaker, it’s not gonna be as simple, tech-wise. Again, like the BD Doom, the CP3 III is 100 percent grip on the sole. JB calls it 360-degree traction, designed to aid in quick stops and starts.

That first-time-wear feel that you get from the shoes (and I’m still getting them after several wearings) comes from Podulon — the midsole cushioning system that’s an evolution of the Independent Podular Suspension system that debuted with the Jordan XX.

Basically, the cushioning foam in the shoe is aligned with all of the high-impact areas of your forefoot. The cushioning is built to last, keeping that fresh, brand-new feeling underfoot for a long time. There’s something similar in the heels as well, in the form of a compression molded phylon heel pod. This all works with an internal shank plate in the midfoot. The shoe stays light and with help from a rigid but flexible upper (no bending this shoe in half), you’re locked in nice and snug when you step onto the court.

The more I wear these CP3s, the more I want to stay on the court, just to see how much more I can get out of them. Again, like the BD Dooms, there were no discomfort issues with the shoe (the uppers had me worried before I wore them). And while this thing is loaded up with performance-friendly features (I went into more detail on those features in late December when the shoes were just getting ready to hit stores), the simple look of the shoe and its overall comfort lets me make it a Go To War sneak.

Both of these shoes are made to play ball in. If they could sit in your closet and demand your on-court attention, that’s what they’d do. If you’re thinking about getting these shoes, get them and try to run them into the ground when you’re out there in the trenches. Keep them happy.

Also, I’m curious to know if you guys have go-to shoes like these. What are they? Why do you like them?

Nike’s Hyperdunk can be credited with a lot of things. The shoe introduced the basketball-playing world to flywire technology and an infinitely lighter shoe when it first dropped in 2008. It quickly became a go to sneak for players at all levels, releasing in a million and four colorways (by my count) in the almost two years since it debuted.

I’d like to personally thank the Hyperdunk for plunging me into scary new depths as a sneakerhead. This week, online retailer osneaker blew things up when they started pre-selling the Kobe Bryant/Aston Martin edition of the Hyperdunk on their site.

The silver, red and blue sneaker is generating an enormous amount of buzz online, extending past the typical sneaker-related sites that normally eat this stuff up. With only 500 pairs made and all of the bells and whistles of the Hyperdunk, along with fancy-pants leather and an Aston Martin logo on the tongue, people are drooling over their keyboards trying to get these things.

The $550 price tag that attached itself to the shoe early in the week has now swollen up to $700.

Situations like this used to be the tipping point for me. I used to feel guilty for wanting the same shoe in multiple colorways. That passed years ago. For a minute, I felt bad about the stacks of boxes that were piling up in my home. For a minute. Outrageous prices on sneakers have always been where I’ve drawn the line. Five years ago, I would have looked at this post, looked at the price and scoffed. Easy pass. I love my sneakers, but I can’t — I won’t — pay $700 for them.

Kobe’s Aston Martin HD’s changed all of that. I take one look at the shoes and my mind goes through a rapid-fire mental checklist.

I didn’t even flinch when I saw the price. Mind you, I don’t have 700 bucks to drop on these shoes, but the fact that this mental barrier has been knocked down is monumental. I write this with my apartment filling up with sneakers at a rate that has thrown my parents into the most bitter fight of their 34-year marriage. My Dad wants to call the producers of Intervention on me. My Mom is convinced I should be on the next episode of Hoarders. They have no idea that I’ve somehow found a way to drop what I could spend on a small vacation, a nice TV, or you know, rent, on sneaks that I’d be petrified of dirtying up. Really, what would you even be able to do with the Aston Martin HD’s if you had them?

I’d set mine up in a glass cube and sleep next to them at night. But that’s just me.

On Wednesday December 2, the Cleveland Cavaliers played the Phoenix Suns at home. It was the night that Zydrunas Ilgauskas broke the franchise record for games played, but it was also the night that the Cavs decided that they’d reveal their 47th different alternate jersey in the past five years (I kid, of course–it’s only been seven alternates, and that’s not including the primary uniform changes in 2003, which would technically make nine–P.S.: look out for another alternate this year, too–shhhhhhhhhhhh…). Going back to those great years of 1987, ’88 and ’89 (when gangsta rap was becoming a phenomenon, Al B. Sure’s “Nite & Day” was a radio smash and made him a phenom, and when Michael Jordan was handing the Cavs their butts back to them [enter sad face here]), Cleveland has used the original road version of the blue away jerseys as their occasional throwback duds (the second incarnation of the road blues said “CLEVELAND”)–and they are wonderful.

These new retro threads are just excellent for a number of reasons, one being that with there being 82 games in a regular NBA season, I personally get tired of seeing the same old stuff, visually, no matter how good the team is. This is probably going to seem silly or even a bit superficial as a fan, but I’ve been known to turn games off on the TV, because I literally get sick of seeing some teams play in the same apparel over and over, especially the teams that come on all the time like the Boston Celtics or San Antonio Spurs. Understand, I don’t really enjoy watching Boston play, so that’s a part of it, but their kelly green and white is boring every year when they’re on for at least 20 games a year; with the Spurs, I actually like watching them, but I take my own TV timeouts with them, so for the Cavaliers to keep it fresh is always nice (especially considering that they already have very well-designed primary game unis as it is).

Another good thing about the new retros is that they go great with the new footwear that’s been coming out. Nike is really doing a great job of matching up to NBA uniforms. LeBron James’ new Air Max LeBron VIIs in the player exclusive blue/white/orange (check the pic) is already an instant classic of sneakers. That Z and other Cavs were wearing LeBron’s old playoff Zoom Soldier IIIs in the same white/blue is another great look, so we can thank Fabolous, Mitchell & Ness, and really, the NBA’s idea to use retro jerseys back in the “NBA At 50” anniversary season in ’96-97. (Remember Allen Iverson’s rookie season in the old “PHILA” jersey with the gold NBA logo embroidery? The Toronto Raptors’ “Huskies” uniforms?)

One other positive about the Cavaliers’ late-80s apparel extravaganza is that the uniforms themselves are improved from a technology standpoint. As recently as the mid-90s, NBA teams were wearing Champion’s excellently built game wear for the court, and it was all heavyweight open-hole mesh. That may seem fairly unimportant, but the truth about the mesh says a lot about how it performs. If you’ve ever worn an authentic game jersey, let’s say it’s an authentic home Dallas Mavericks Jimmy Jackson jersey (who I’ve adored since watching basketball in 1993), you’ll literally feel the weight of the body of the jersey. It seems indestructible, not only because the mesh is strong, but the stitching of the numbers and team names are tackle twill and often layered, which is significant if your entire uniforms soaked with sweat (even the collar and armholes are weighty).

Well, in the case of the Cavs, the new incarnations of the old design use a closed-hole mesh, which makes the color of the uniform *pop*–did you see how vivid the color of those threads were? Closed-hole mesh holds color better, and it’s the same reason why the New York Knicks switched to closed-hole unis this year, because the color held up to the repeated washings. Since Nike took over for about a third of the league’s uniforms in 1997-ish, their patented Dri-Fit technology enabled the meshes on many of their uniforms to be much thinner and lighter as a result. The Cavs ’87 alternate is made by the league’s current uniform supplier, adidas, who employs a version of Nike’s moisture-wicking technology in the game uniforms called “ClimaLite”, which also enables for lighter material. So when LeBron was busy taking off toward the basket and raising up for jumpers, the lighter material wasn’t keeping his sweat on him, thus keeping him a tad lighter and more refreshed…and who doesn’t like bright blue jerseys, huh? Am I right?!? (Thought so.)

Just as well are Nike’s plans to release the second version of their Hyperdunk sneaker, which is called the Nike Hyperdunk 2010. Taking what was so great about the previous Hyperdunk and altering the design, the new Hyperdunk appears to be a more supportive, cushier update and continues with the Hyperize to be the advanced fulfillment of the Air Huarache line.

The Nike Hyperdunk 2010 returns with the Flywire technology and the Dynamic Innersleeve for full foot-body comfort. The famous floating heel counter returns as well for heel lockdown. The midsole returns in a new two-tiered design, which differs from the previous model’s more traditional sculpting, as the new midsole appears to act both a semi-cupsole and cushioning platform (borrowing from the Nike Huarache 09); it is made of Phylon encasing a full-length Zoom Air unit, which also differs from the Cushlon/Zoom Air & LunarLite set-up that many were on the fence about on in the first Hyperdunk. In this way, there is bonafide support and bring-back cushioning that might have been somewhat lacking with the LunarLite. Complete with a rubber outsole with herringbone traction, the pivot point and flex grooves, the new Hyperdunk 2010 may be even better suited for on-court action.

Expect a $110 price tag sometime in the first or second quarter of 2010 (and much thanks to Andrew for continued exclusive briefings on the upcoming releases!).

Dovi out.

Sandy Dover is a novelist/writer, artist and fitness enthusiast, as well as an unrepentant Prince fan (for real). You can find Sandy frequently here at SLAMonline, as well as at Associated Content and Twitter.